Currently a columnist with ESPN.com, bassist Duff McKagan took some time on February 9th to answer a fan’s question regarding important attributes for a lead singer. Let’s just say he wasn’t too vague:

“Any good artist has to have had some kind of rub in their life, something real. Something you have to get out lyrically or you are going to kill yourself or somebody else. Those are the lyrics that inspire. The ability to tap the dark stuff and have it be real. Great lead singers have the ability to tap that. No inhibitions helps as well. Axl [Rose] and Scott [Weiland] are two of the best front men ever.

Corey Taylor is one of those guys as well. He can tap it. He has to get those lyrics on the paper or his world is going to crash down around him.

McKagan’s news comes in the shadow of Taylor’s recent interview with Billboard.com, in which he chose to neither confirm nor deny the Velvet Revolver rumors, simply stating “To be continued!”. However, he was a little more open about the future of his current projects, possibly to the dismay of remaining Slipknot fans. After the loss of Slipknot’s bassist Paul Gray in May, the lead singer admittedly questions the longevity of the metal outfit. Going as far to say, “There’s a big part of me that wonders if I’m the guy for that band anymore. I’m in such a different place in my life…musically, spiritually. I’m not the angry kid anymore. A lot of things don’t mean the same to me anymore, and there’s a lot of things I don’t feel like saying anymore.”

For now, Taylor has a more positive outlook for Stone Sour, who is currently on tour and throwing around the idea of another studio album.

Just in case that isn’t enough of a Taylor update, his first book, The Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good, is set for a July 12th publication. Pre-order here.